Contents

This help article will guide you as you edit in the Wiki. See Contributor Help for more help articles.

Main Page

When viewing any page on a research Wiki, you'll find three main navigation elements:

1. The sidebar on the right gives you access to important pages in the wiki such as recent changes or Upload file.2. At the top of the pagetabs which relate to the Page currently displayed: the Edit link, Discussion page also known as the talk page, History page, will show you the history of the page.3. In the top right corner you'll find user links; as an anonymous user, you'll see a link to create an account or log in (they are the same page). As a logged-in user you have a collection of personal links, including ones to your user page and preferences.

Sidebar

The sidebar is displayed on the left edge of the page below the site logo (if using the default MonoBook skin). This sidebar gives you access to important pages in the wiki such as Recent changes or Upload file.

Navigation

Clicking on the logo brings you back to the main page of the wiki. The links in the navigation section just below will take you to important pages of the wiki. These links can be configured by site administrators.

Search Box

This search function allows you to search the Wiki using keywords: Keywords are places, record types, historical subjects or family history subjects. For example: mesa arizona or probate records or civil war

The Search Section of the Sidebar includes:

Search Box - Type keywords and search terms here. Use "subject", "place" or "keywords" to search the site. For example, searching with keywords like "DAR" or "Daughters of the American Revolution" will usually return good results. Searches that include full sentences such as "How do I find DAR records?" are unlikely to return good results. Hit the return key on your keyboard to see the search results.

<br> Browse by Country - Click on "by country" to see a list of all countries with pages on the Wiki.&nbsp;

Browse by Topic - Click on "by topic" to see major categories on the Wiki. This is not a comprehensive list, but contains many of all topics available. Search keywords for topics not listed.

Views

Views- Clicking on "Views" will hide or show the section below it.

Page- Clicking on "Page" will take you to the page view if you are on another view such as Discussion or History.

Edit - The Edit link allows registered users to make changes to the page. You must be registered to edit the Wiki. Anyone may register! If at first you do not feel comfortable editing a page, you may want to practice in your user sandbox. If you would like to work with others you can join a group of community members working together on a project. There is also an Edit link at the top of each page.

Discussion - Every page has an associated discussion or talk page which is used for communicating with other users before changing the content of the page. If you want to edit or make significant changes to an existing page, click on the associated discussion page and post your ideas. Other contributors watching the page will be notified automatically by email that you have posted a comment.

History - Every page has a "History" which shows changes that have been made and by whom they were made with a record of the date and time of every edit and an edit summary. The history also contains links to all previous versions of the page. To learn more about an author, click on the username in the History. To leave a message for the author, click on "Talk" link next to their username and they will be automatically notified the next time they visit the site or by email (if they have enabled email notifications). To see other contributions by the author, click on "Contribs" link next to the username.

Watch/Unwatch - Click "Watch" on any page that you would like to be notified of changes. You may choose to watch a favorite topic or locality for future additions or you may want to be notified of changes on a page that you created or edited. To discontinue watching a page click "Unwatch". When you are signed in you may see the list of your watched pages on "My Watchlist" link at the bottom of the navigation sidebar.

Toolbox

The toolbox contains a selection of links which change depending on what type of page you are viewing.

Toolbox - Click on "Toolbox" to hide or show the section below it.

<br> What links here - Lists other pages on the Wiki that are linked to the page.

Related changes - Lists recent changes to pages that are linked to the page.

Special pages - This page contains links to unique pages which allow you to access wiki reports, wiki statistics, and upload media files.

Permanent link - This link shows the web address for the current page.

Upload file - Use this link to upload images that spice up your new page! Images will go through an approval process before they are posted on your Wiki page.

Personal Tools

Personal Tools - Click on "Personal Tools" to hide or show the section below it.

User name - When you are signed in, your user name will appear here. This links to your user page where you may post information about yourself, your research or family history interests.

My talk - Other community members may communicate with you on your talk page and if you select the email preference to receive emails, you will be notified when they post to your talk page.

My preferences - this is where a user may change personal preferences.

My watchlist - Manage your watchlist from this link.

My contributions - View your personal contributions from this link.

Sign Out - This link signs you out of the Wiki.

User Links

The user links are displayed at the top far right of the page (if using the default MonoBook skin). These tabs allow the logged-in user to view and edit their user page and wiki preferences. Additionally, the user links allow the user to quickly access their contributions to the wiki and logout.

For anonymous users the user links is replaced by a link to the wiki login page or, if enabled, a link to your IP address and your IP address's talk page.

“<username>”

This links to your user page which is where you can put information about yourself, store bits of information you want to remember or whatever else you fancy.

“my talk”

This links to your discussion page, where people can leave messages for you.

“my preferences”

Allows you to change your personal site preferences.

“my watchlist”

A list of all pages that you are watching. Pages can be added to this list by clicking “watch” at the top of the page.

“my contributions”

A list of all contributions you have made to the wiki.

“sign Out”

Click this link to log out of the wiki.

Volunteer

Volunteer - Click on "Volunteer" to hide or show the section below it.

Submit Wiki Content - Do you have information you would like to contribute to the wiki, but don't yet know how to edit pages? Everybody knows something! This form allows you to submit information on any topic without knowing how to edit in the wiki. Simply type or cut and paste the information onto the form, and a volunteer will transcribe it onto the wiki.

Community Meetings - Support is available for the newbie to the techie in our Live Community Meeting. These meetings also connect you with group projects where you can learn and collaborate with others.

Wiki Forums - Ask (or answer!) questions about contributing to the Wiki, make suggestions about what you'd like to see different in the Wiki, and report problems you have run into. Includes 9 fourms in 3 areas: Research & Record Assistance, FamilySearch Support, and FamilyHistory Centers & Support.

Contributor Help - The 12 most important links for contributors to be aware of, gathered onto one page.

Manual of Style - Standards for document design and writing; provides uniformity in style and formatting, which makes articles easier to understand and use.